Ridin' ponies

Why does is seem that horse riding hobbyists (particularly among the younger crowd) tend to be overwhelmingly female? Maybe I'm dead wrong about this? What do you think?

People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor

Funny you should mention it, but that's what prompted my post. The parade on Monday had a 4H contingent which was 95% female. They had four riders and all appeared to be maybe 11-15 year old girls.

People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor

We had a few ponies when I was growing up but we never really rode them. I think my parents bought them when they moved to the country to help complete the stereotype of the hobby farmer. The entire time I was growing up, my dad always told me that one of the ponies was actually a race horse that they got at an auction. I believed that until I was in high school. In my defense however, he was rather large for a pony - the other 3 that we had were what you would normally expect of a pony, size-wise.

As our society becomes more urban, I think that boys see horse riding as kind of girly.

And yet I'm not sure why that is. Horses are large animals and require considerable skill and in some cases strength in handling them. Seems like males would be all over that.

People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor

My grandparents has a horse on their farm for the grandkids. The first one was a gentle one named King. When he died, they got Lightning. Basically a ride on Lightning was a struggle. You wanted to go somewhere and Lightning's goal was to get back to the pasture as soon as he could. He was not above running you into a tree branch or making a sharp turn to throw you off. Then you have a long walk back, while watching the quickly-disappearing Lightning.

But he was a pussycat compared to the donkey, who was named Satan. Satan hated to be ridden, so of course we had to ride him. He knew every trick in the book. It was bronc riding with a little bull riding thrown in. It wasn't a question of if you could ride him but for how long. You were going to get thrown and then Satan was going to come after you. He had quite a bite.

My sister had a horse for years. It was a nice gentle horse with a calm, easy temperment, Every year while we lived in New Orleans, one of the krewe captains would ride her in the parade. For my sister, she was more of a pet. She rode her but mostly she brushed and cared for her.

I took care of the horse for about a year, when my sister was away. I hoped it would help me meet girls but the girls at the stable treated me like I was an alien invader. There was a boy who also had a horse, but he was kind of, well, one of the girls.

"I am very good at reading women, but I get into trouble for using the Braille method."

It's an age thing. When boys are small, they want to be cowboys and ride horses. When girls are teenagers, they get romantic ideas about riding horses. Boys that age have forgotten about horses and want to ride teenage girls. I'm surprised otterpop didn't have something to say about that.

“Death comes when memories of the past exceed the vision for the future.”

Real men drive pick-up trucks on the farm/ranch. As for cowboys... first there was the Village People and then Brokeback Mountain. The whole horse riding cowboy scene went gay back in the 80's. Nothing wrong with that. Just saying.

I'm an old cow hand
from the Rio Grande
But my legs aint bowed
and my cheeks aint tanned
I'm a riding fool who is up to date
I know every trail in the Lone Star state
'cause I rode 'em all in my Ford V-8
oh yippy yi yo ky yay...

I have rode only a couple times in my life but both times netted at least one good story,
#1 I'm putting the saddle on and pull it as tight as I can.....little did I realize the horse puffed out its stomach so it would be loose when I got on to ride. Sure enough after a short while my saddle starts to slide sideways!
#2 went riding trails with a gal at college who was a riding enthusiast. We rode for about three hours....I couldn't walk for almost two days afterwards. She of course suffered no apparent ill effects from the ride (to this day I don't know why she didnt) and I think knowingly asked me the next day if I wanted to ride again soon.

Last edited by Maister; 30 May 2012 at 4:53 PM.

People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor

Real men drive pick-up trucks on the farm/ranch. As for cowboys... first there was the Village People and then Brokeback Mountain. The whole horse riding cowboy scene went gay back in the 80's. Nothing wrong with that. Just saying.

Cowboys have always been a little suspect. They walk kind of like women. They wear high heels, accessorize with fancy belts and belt buckles, scarves (oh, they call them bandanas, but they are scarves) and wear big floppy hats. If they didn't smell like horse s**t and ride around in a pickup with the most god-awful ugly cattle dogs, they would fit right at the Gay Pride Parade. But as Seinfeld would say, "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"I am very good at reading women, but I get into trouble for using the Braille method."

Why does is seem that horse riding hobbyists (particularly among the younger crowd) tend to be overwhelmingly female? Maybe I'm dead wrong about this? What do you think?

Girls have always had a strong affinity to horses/ponies in recent times. I'm not sure why, but I think it may very well be related to the affinity that men have to automobiles. Girls and women see horses as living things close to pets (like overlarge dogs as it were) while men seem to think of them more as tools. As tools go, autos are much less trouble.

This may sound sexist, but women are often more temperamentally suited to dealing with stubborn creatures with limited reasoning ability (which horses can often be) in a calmer, less aggressive manner than men. Women also don't necessarily feel a great need to dominate said creatures. This tends to make women excellent horse trainers, as it's really a losing (and frequently dangerous) battle to try to manhandle a 1000+ pound animal. In fact, many of the very best trainers of sport horses like jumpers and hunters are women.

PS -- I "rode" my first horse (a pony) when I was six months old (I have the photo to prove it). I've had a few over the years, and hope to get another one or two when I retire and have facilities for them.

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. -- John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961